a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fixing structure for an outer ring in a one-way clutch which is used as a torque-transmitting or backstop component in a drive system of an automotive vehicle or the like.
b) Description of the Related Art
As is appreciated from a side cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 and also from a front view of FIG. 10 in which a part of a side wall 60 has been cut away, a one-way clutch is constructed of an outer ring 10, an inner wall 20, the side wall 60 mounted on a side wall of the outer ring 10, etc. Each spline 15 formed on an outer peripheral wall of the outer ring 10 is fitted in a corresponding keyway 46 formed in a housing 45, so that the outer ring 10 and the housing 45 are fixedly united together. Designated at numeral 30 is a stopper ring which serves to achieve positioning of the outer ring 10 in an axial direction.
An internal mechanism of the one-way clutch comprises, as shown by cutting away the part of the side wall 60 in FIG. 10, a number of rollers 50 arranged between a cam surface 90 on an inner peripheral wall of the outer ring 10 and an outer peripheral wall of the inner ring 20, springs 70 maintained in contact with leading ends of the respective rollers 50 as viewed in an idling direction, and spring anchors 80 for the respective springs 70. As long as the inner ring 20 rotates clockwise as indicated by arrow R.sub.1 in FIG. 10, no locking action is performed.
The housing 45 is a casting so that no accurate dimensions can be expected thereon. To cope with this problem, a clearance a is left between the spline 15 of the outer ring 10 and a wall of its corresponding keyway 46 of the housing 45 as illustrated in FIG. 11.
When the inner ring 20 rotates clockwise (in the idling direction) or counterclockwise (in a locking direction), the outer ring 10 is also caused to rotate in the same direction due to drag torque of the rollers 50, leading to the inconvenience that a side wall of the spline 15 is caused to hit a side wall of the keyway 46 and a sharp metallic hitting noise is hence produced.
To fix the outer ring 10, it was therefore proposed, as shown in FIG. 9, to interpose a spring 40 between the outer ring 10 and an opposing inner wall 45a of the housing 45 so that the outer ring 10 is always pressed against the stopper ring 30 to avoid occurrence of such a sharp metallic hitting noise.
According to this conventional approach, however, the spring 40 is a separate part so that the spring 40 has to be assembled at the user's end prior to assembling the one-way clutch on the housing 45. This has resulted in the drawbacks that more assembling steps are needed and the assembly work is cumbersome and time-consuming.